Most folks have heard of the WW2-era US military's M1 "Thompson" SMG and the M3 "Grease Gun" SMG. But not many have heard of the intervening M2 "Hyde" SMG, which was adopted by the US military in 1942 as a replacement for the heavy and expensive Thompson. (I had provided a brief overview of the M2 Hyde SMG in a thread a few years ago: http://sigforum.com/eve/forums...0601935/m/8100054334)

The M2 was tested and adopted, but due to production issues, it was never fielded. Only 400 were ever produced before the contract was cancelled in 1943, in favor of the even cheaper and simpler M3 Grease Gun. Only a handful of M2s still exist today in museums and private collections. One of only a couple transferable M2s is coming up for auction this month, and Ian over at Forgotten Weapons got a chance to handle and examine it. He just posted a new video that does a great job looking at the history and inner workings of the rare and relatively unknown M2 Hyde SMG.